Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1887-12-08
TIPPING THE WAITER.
THERE Is DANGER, SOMETIMES, OF
OVERRIDING THE MATTER.

Fast Young Mans sLiberality--The Aver
age Tip Less Than Twenty-Five Cents-A
Schedule-Head Walters Fees-Few Tips
from Ladies.
A very fashionably dressed man, slightly
| intoxicated, went into the dining room of q
first class hotel in New York the other even
| ing, and asked for an expensive dinner a
| quart of champagne included. The young
| man with an apron who took his order was
all attention, and dozen other young men
with aprons stood at their vacant tables and
smiled enviously. That their envy was well
| founded was shown when the diner paid his
bill. 1t amounted to SAT and after paying
the amount he held the silver quarter of
change stupidity in his hand a moment, evil
IDENTIFY wondering if that would be enough to
fee the waiter; then he thrust it il his pocket,
took bill from his purse, laid it unsteadily
in the walters ready hand, and walked away
with the proud consciousness of having been
exceedingly liberal. The head waiter, dis
tinguished looking man with mild blue eyes
and long, blonde mustache, smiled COM
placently at the episode, and turning to the
writer, said
"That customer did not know that twenty
five cents would have served his purpose just
as well, and that half dollar would have
been the extreme of generosity"
? rs twenty-five cents the average tip to
waiters!"
"No," answered the head waiter doubtfully;
81 don't think it is 1t would be less than
that, though there are men who make a point
of always giving half dollar. The great
majority of men make the fee ten cents and
where three or four come together they fire.
quently chip in five cents apiece for the
waiter. Few customers neglect the tip en-
tirely, but some of them let it go for few
days and then give fee of fifty cents. They
are the men who really get the best service,
for, although at the end of the week they
will have paid less than ten cents on the
average for their dinner fees, the waiter who
gets the silver may have served the customer
but once during that time The effect of
that plan is to make every waiter hope by
special attention to induce the customer to
pay tip on that particular occasion when
he serves.
ACCORDING TO SCHEDULE.
II know man who varies the amount of
his tip according to mathematical schedule
He pays the waiter 10 per cent. of the bill
except when the bill is less than 81 or more
than S5 In the first case he tips ten cents,
and never goes above half a dollar. The
walters regular wages here are $50 month
and meals, and with decent luck and care any
one of them is enabled to double his income
by fees"
"Does the head waiter come in for fees
also!"
"Yes, indeed, and mighty good ones, too.
Men who find it agreeable to tip the head
waiter seldom give him less than 81. His
richest opportunity lies in private dinner
party. Those who dine in a separate room
imagine that they get better attention than
the people in the main dining room, and they
fee the waiter accordingly"
"Do ladies tip the waiters?'
"Well, now, it seems hardly gallant to say
so, but few walters like to serve a lady who
dimes alone, or two of them together A
waiter thinks himself lucky to get dime
from lady, and if there are two of them,
the dime answers for both, if, indeed, they
give any fee at ALL In the up town hotels
and restaurants in the shopping district it
may be that half the lady customers give
tip. Now and tken one appears who leaves
quarter on the plate just like man, but,
alas! they are very rare. We have one Gus
toner who is q shrewd business woman and
takes much pride in her capacity for bar
gaining. When she comes in she selects a
table with great deiberation, choosing ac-
cording to the impression the walters make
upon her. Then she says to the waiter who
comes to take her order: Now what is your
name, my manp And suppose he answers
Perkins, madani,' she continues: We'll, Per-
kins, want you to serve me in tip top shape;
tin ton understand? Here and she sims a
silver quarter under her glass; see thata
that's yours if you serve me tip top Then
she looks at him sharply and proceeds to give
her order. You may depend upon it she gets
served well, but if anything goes amiss that
quarter goes back into her pocket."-F. r.
Burton in Louisville Courier Journal